Dr. S Leela

Mint, scientifically  known as ‘mentha’, is a herb with small green leaves and a characteristic strong odour. It is also a virtual cure-all plant. Try using mint by adding it to your meals, oral care and skin care regimen to remain healthy and fresh forever. A few prominent mint health benefits include the following:

1. Digestion aid: Try mint leaves if you are not feeling hungry. It is a great appetizer as well as a promoter of digestion. It soothes your stomach when you’re suffering from inflammation or indigestion. So, next time you have a stomach upset, go for mint tea or mint oil. Mint’s characteristic aroma acts as an appetizer. It stimulates the salivary glands and other digestive glands to produce saliva and digestive juices, thereby facilitating digestion.

2. Nausea and headache: Mint leaves, especially freshly crushed leaves, help staunch nausea and headache, thanks to the strong and refreshing aroma. Menthol oil or mint-flavoured products are very useful for alleviating nausea. Similarly, balms with a mint base or mint oil can be rubbed on your forehead and nose to give quick relief from headache. Mint tea oil derived from mint is also very effective in treating nausea and motion sickness while travelling.

3. Respiratory disorders: The strong minty aroma is very effective in clearing up congestion of the nose, throat, bronchi and lungs. This makes mint a very effective remedy for asthma and common cold. The herb is also a good remedy for cough. This is because mint has a cooling and soothing effect on the throat, nose and other respiratory channels, and this helps relieve the irritation, which causes chronic coughing. Regular use of mint in any form is very beneficial for asthma patients as well, because it is a good relaxant and it relieves congestion that blocks respiratory channels, causing symptoms of asthma.

4. Depression and fatigue reliever: As mint is a natural stimulant, it can help relieve fatigue and feelings of sadness. Mint essential oil is very good if you are feeling anxious, sad, depressed, low or just plain sluggish. Mint oil can be ingested, applied as a salve topically, or inhaled as a vapour to help with fatigue and depression.

5. Oral health: Mint has germicidal qualities and can quickly freshen up your breath. It also gets eradicates harmful oral bacteria inside your mouth, alleviating oral health. The mint leaves can be rubbed directly on your tongue, teeth and gums to clean and refresh your mouth. You can also get the benefits of mint by simply chewing on its leaves.

6. Skin health: Since mint oil is a good antiseptic and anti-pruritic, it acts as an excellent skin cleanser. It is used to clear pimples as well as soothe and cure skin from infections.

Mint’s anti-pruritic properties can be used for treating insect bites, mosquito bites, stings by honeybees etc. With its cooling property, mint will relieve you of the irritation of stings and bring the swelling down. Also, women can use mint oil to relieve cracks and pain in nipples which occur during breastfeeding." If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a doctor.